What better way to open up a weekend of eating and purging than to sweat to some heart pumping beats created by Simian Mobile Disco?
Before a breakdown of the show, I will give you a brief history of this English DJ duo and how they came to be. Comprised of two former members of Simian (yes they sang that "Never Be Alone" remixed by Justice for the hipster anthem circa 2006) James Ford and Jae Shaw decided to take on new sound. The majority of their songs feature simple vocals combined with extreme distortion and unique beats. With their debut album Attack Sustain Release in June of 2007, they began to form a name for themselves with hits such as "Hustler" and "I Believe". Their sophmore album Temporary Pleasure was released this May and included some heavy hitting names on the vocals (Beth Ditto of the Gossip, Chris Keating of Yeasayer). Temporary Pleasure featured more variety compared to the first album and most of the songs were either a hit or miss.
Lights decorated the stage and flashed giving you only glimpses of the duo mixing in front of you. The dancefloor was filled with glowsticks and kids hopping up and down to the bass. I have to say the one component I really enjoyed of this show is the originality. It seemed this team used their original songs as only a base for the new songs they created for the audience. They would take the original hook and create a whole new track right in front of you, seeping their creativity into the foggy atmosphere of the Mayan.
Various times they played the isolated vocals to hype up the crowd and then would slowly increase into the excellerated tone of the song. These men knew how to work the crowd and when they left the stage after their encore people were screaming for 15 minutes until they finally turned the lights on. Hands down this concert was worth the $25 and I will be attending their next show in the Los Angeles area.
Here is "Cruel Intentions (feat. Beth Ditto)" live at the Mayan:
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